Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Michael Morrison Despite having everything in its favor, "The Sundowners," with great cast, good story, gorgeous scenery, is still slow and tame.No tension is ever present. I think how it will finally end is obvious rather early, but you will want to see it through, if only to test your judgment.Robert Sterling, a good-looking and talented actor, is not someone I had associated with Westerns, but he rides like a cowboy and seems absolutely real.Robert Preston has done everything, and I mean everything: He is probably still best known for "Professor Harold Hill" in "The Music Man" but he also was the wagon master in "How the West Was Won," and seemed right at home brandishing a whip and heading 'em up.Chill Wills can't do much wrong. (The ad campaign for him to win an Oscar for his role in "The Alamo" was a major exception, but maybe we can't blame him for that.) His character here is an example of great writing and he, as always, pulls it off perfectly.Cathy Downs is probably best known for the title role in the moronically a-historical "My Darling Clementine" (it is one my most disliked pieces of history twisting on film), and she died terribly young, 26 years after this film. She was a lovely and capable actress, and her character too was different and an example of good writing.Her character was the wife of the one played by Jack Elam, who had a different role for him. You might want to watch "The Sundowners" just to see Jack Elam in this unusual part, and to see how talented an actor he was.John Litel was a veteran performer, and always so believable, whether on horseback or as Thomas Jefferson or as the boss of the Secret Service. He is one of my favorite character actors -- which means one of my favorite actors.That writing, by the way, was by veteran Alan LeMay (known here as Alan Le May), perhaps best known for "The Searchers."God bless 'em, but Westerns on the Web has this available at YouTube and you should be quick to grab a chance to watch. At no time will you be on the edge of your seat, but you will admire the more than capable cast especially against some of the best scenery Texas has.

bkoganbing It's entirely possible that the VHS that I watched of this film was badly edited because the film seemed to begin in the middle. The Cloud Brothers, Robert Sterling and John Drew Barrymore, have settled in some country where there's a nice range war in progress. They've got both big cattle baron John Litel and a group of smaller ranchers against them. All they want to do is be left alone, but neither group will allow that.A third brother, Robert Preston, arrives on the scene. He's a noted outlaw named Kid Wichita and he really ratchets up the violence quotient. That also includes killing the sheriff who is Litel's son and Jack Elam who's married to Cathy Downs who he's taking a fancy to.This is a nice cast and John Drew Barrymore certainly showed he had the potential to be an earlier version of James Dean. The heritage of that name proved too much for that man though. One of the more ambitious undertakings from Eagle-Lion Studios. But The Sundowners was flawed in the execution.The Robert Mitchum/Deborah Kerr Sundowners was far better.

loydmooney-1 This is one of those westerns that, well, stands practically alone in the unrelieved quality of its dialog. Very few can hold up to it over the long haul. That said, the rest is pretty bad. Nevertheless I am giving it an eight because there is no other western with such consistently good dialog with maybe the exception of The Wild Bunch, Junior Bonner, and perhaps a few more. It is riddled with weaknesses, John Drew Barrimore the most glaring. However it does have one truly memorable scene. Nothing like it. Its right after Kid Wichita kills the sheriff, and goes to Jack Elams place trying to goad him into a fight. Wonderful stuff. Right up with the best in any western.

bux Sterling and younger brother try to survive on land, being squeezed by big cattlemen. When 'rogue' brother Preston arrives, a moral dilemma ensues. John 'Drew' Barrymore steals the show as the younger, impressionable brother-Barrymore shows signs here that he could have been an acting powerhouse. Moves at a nice pace to an exciting climax.